Verizon Rolls Out 'Up' Rewards Program with Major Caveat

Verizon Wireless today announced Verizon Up, a rewards program for customers that promises free services, device discounts, and event tickets. Verizon claims its reward program is simple and straightforward. Verizon Up is baked into the MyVerizon application, so there are no forms to worry about. For every $300 customers spend on their wireless bill, they'll earn one reward credit. Each reward is worth one credit, so rewards can be earned on a one-for-one basis. Verizon will offer six rotating rewards each month that consumers can take advantage of immediately if they wish. Some examples include four free months of Apple Music, or three free months of HBO Now (both with subscription.) These are what Verizon calls Everyday Rewards, which will include others from the likes of Amazon, Headspace, and Electronic Arts. Up also includes Verizon Awards, which allow people to save credit towards device purchases ($10 per month), discounts on accessories, and bonus data. Verizon Up includes access to high-demand tickets in sports, music, and entertainment, as well as giveaways to events such as the Super Bowl. Verizon Up is free to join, but there are some major caveats. To start, reward credits expire 60 days after they are earned. Earning the credits requires $300 in payments on Verizon services only, which means the taxes and other fees on monthly wireless bills don't count toward the $300 total. Last, but not least, Verizon customers must join Verizon Selects in order to qualify for Verizon Up. According to the FAQs page for Verizon Up, Verizon Selects is a customer data collection program for advertising purposes. "Verizon Selects helps personalize your experiences and make advertising you see more useful across the devices and services you use," explained Verizon. "To do this, the program uses information about your web browsing, app usage, device location, use of Verizon services and other information about you (such as your postal/email addresses, demographics, and interests) and shares information with Oath." Further, Verizon said identifying customer data collected through Verizon Selects is shared with its vendors and partners. Verizon subscribers can sign up for Verizon Up starting today.